Industrial Strength Drabbles
by Blip-chan
Summary: A collection of various short Torchwood drabbles varying from angst to crack, featuring all of our crazy cast and their adventures.
1. Missing

I know the cup of coffee I left on Jack's desk is sitting there getting cold. I've left one every day of the six months he's been gone and it's always been sitting there when I stick my head in at the end of the day before I leave. I suppose I'm a creature of habit, but routine feels good. It's comforting to know that it will keep me from breaking apart. Every time I see Gwen, I feel her sympathetic eyes bore into the back of my head and it break my heart. I wish they'd stop pitying me.

ξ ξ ξ

I came back last night, just checking like I normally do, and the cup was empty. Sitting beside it was a Torchwood index card, flipped over so a blank side was showing. Printed In Jack's pristine handwriting, there was a shot note that broke my heart.

_Ianto_

_Still leaving me coffee, I see. You're a sweetie like that. I don't know if I'll be back, but if not, thanks for everything._

I knew it was his handwriting, even though there was no signature. His writing was everywhere in the hub, it's not like I hadn't seen it before. I was the archivist, for god's sake. But seeing it there on that card was like seeing it for the first time. The way the curves of every letter fell the same way, the slight slant of his words, the crisp blueness of the ink, the coldness of his words…

A brand began to burn somewhere slightly left of my sternum, carving its way through my flesh to tear at my heart. He abandoned us, leaving without so much as a goodbye, and now, after 6 months of hoping, I finally put my head down to cry. It started slowly at first, a soft trickle worming its way out of disbelieving eyes, but I knew that once they'd started, they wouldn't stop until I had been drained dry. And so I cried. I cried for our love and my broken heart; I cried for his betrayal and my loneliness, for the war we were still fighting without him; I cried out my anger and my fear and my grief. I cried because I though I'd never see him again.

I must have cried myself to sleep too, because when I opened my eyes again, it was to find Gwen resting her hand on my shoulder holding a steaming mug of tea in her hands, eyes down.

"Ianto—"

"Don't bother." I could tell my voice was hoarse and my face felt puffy and red. Without another word, I took the tea from her hand and took a mouthful, scalding my tongue. The pain was nice, and I didn't bat an eye.

"If there's anything I can do…"

"You can't bring him back. IF you'll excuse me." I stood, straitening my rumpled suit. She moved out of my way with so much as a sigh.

"I'm sorry."


	2. Perfection

Title: Perfection

Rating: M; Swearing and mentions of sex

Pairings, Characters: Jack/Ianto; Gwen, Owen, Tosh

Set: During the beginning of Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

POV: Ianto

A/N: Thanks for the overflow of nice words for the last bit guys! I really appreciate it!

"Did you miss me?"

Yes, you sorry son-of-a-bitch! You were gone for 6 months without a word and you just come back as if you'd never left and of course I missed you! I'm watching you stand there, wearing your stupid military great-coat, with that perfect little grin, and that perfect face, and those perfect eyes, and that perfect thing I can never put my finger on, and I just want to turn and kiss you but I can't because the others don't know and the poor little girl is crying with her mother and she doesn't need another shock and I can't even move because after 6 months you just show up again and I'm scared you don't love me and I need to hear it so my heart doesn't explode with the nearness of your hand.

Later, when your perfect mouth is around my cock as you apologize in the only way you know, I want to hit you. I want to break your nose and yell at you and tell you that I never want to see you again, but right now I feel more alive then I have in months and I can't string two words together, let alone move my body and there are stars flashing in my vision and I feel at peace for the first time since you left and my god it feels…

Later, when the feel of your perfect skin curves around my back, I feel safe. I feel like I could almost believe that you'll stay this time, that you'll actually tell me you'll love me, that I'll wake up tomorrow half-sprawled on your chest as you watch me sleep, that I'm more than just a lay, that you won't ever leave me, that I can grow old with you.

Later, you ask me a question.

"Ianto, did you miss me?" There are so many things I want to tell you. I want to tell you that I missed you, that you broke my heart, that you make me feel alive, that I believe that you'll stay this time, that I love you more than anything else in this whole wide would but I settle for a single word and hope you can here the rest.

"Yes."


	3. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Title: Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Rating: K

Pairings, Characters: One-sided Tosh/Owen

Set: Anytime before the end of Season 2

POV: Tosh

A/N: Tosh needs fan love and I feel she always gets the short end of the love deal throughout the show. I also got the titular song stuck in my head so this was born. And yes, writing ficlets is all I do in school XD

Owen is always at his most beautiful when he's bent over a corpse. The bitterness that pervades his everyday attitude falls away when he has a task to focus on and the years just seem to fall off of him. This side of him is so hard to find, but I love the way his face moves when he really smiles and the way he shakes when he really laughs. If only I knew how to coax that Owen out a little more often…

I'm watching him now, operating on a dead Weevil. He looks so peaceful now, a scalpel in one hand and cold flesh in the other. I know about his fiancé, found it in the records. The official story was she had early onset Alzheimer's and died on the operating table as they tried some new treatment, but the Torchwood records show she had some sort of alien growing in her brain. I wish I could reach out to him, but he's so distant, hiding behind a wall of cynical bravado.

The truth is, I love him. I think Gwen and Jack know it, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ianto knew it, but Owen is just blind as a bat. I wish I could tell him, but I can't. I'm sure he'd turn me down. He's not interested in true relationships.

"Oi, Tosh!" Shit, he's seen me. I turn to my banks of computers and pretend to look busy, pulling up some files on recent rift activity. "Tosh, I know you're watching. Find anything worth mentioning?"

"N-no," I stutter feeling a hot blush beginning to creep its way up my neck. I can still feel his eyes on the back of my head and I keep my eyes down, staring and the type guide on the J key. I want to walk right up to him and kiss him, right then at that moment, while he's still coated in Weevil bits and reeking of death, but I don't have the courage.

"Alrighty then. Let me know if you find anything."


	4. Black Roses

**!SPOILERS! **

Title: Black Roses

Rating: K+, Mentions of character death

Pairings, Characters: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys;

Set: Post CoE

POV: 3rd

A/N: More angst…I promise the next chapter will be slightly lighter. I've got most of it written long-hand, so it should be up by tomorrow. As always, let me know if you liked it!

"They called him a hero."

"He was a hero, Jack." The day they buried the victims of the 456 was cold and cloudless, unseasonable for the time of year. By this time, the government eulogies were over and the reporters had faded away, leaving only the grief of the victims' families behind. Jack and Gwen were the only ones standing by this particular grave, but both of them were dressed somberly and Jack was clutching an overflowing bouquet of black roses in one hand. The freshly turned earth was stark against the almost overgrown old cemetery, leaving a visible trace of the wounds they were feeling.

"Its funny," Jack went on, staring at a point slightly above the gravestone. "It seems that the heroes always die."

"Jack?"

"He shouldn't have had to be a hero, Gwen. We…" He paused, voice thickening with the threat of unshed tears. "I should have been able to save him. I should have known. I could have saved him." Jack fell silent, bowing his head as the wind picked up.

"Gwen!" Rhys, dressed smartly in a black suit and tie, was running across the cemetery towards them, another bouquet in his hand, this one white lilies and lilac. "Gwen, I'm so sorry." Rhys stepped forwards, resting his flowers against the gravestone, then stepping back to embrace Gwen, who began to cry into his shirt collar. The three of them stood there in the cooling evening air, the silence only broken by Gwen's occasional muffled sob.

Once Gwen had finally quieted, she and Rhys turned to leave. Jack hadn't turned once the whole time, but now he spared them a glance over his shoulder. Gwen couldn't meet his puffy red eyes, which glimmered with unshed tears.

"Don't fail him, Gwen," Jack whispered, dropping his eyes. "Don't fail him like I failed Ianto." Gwen frowned.

"You didn't fail him, Jack.

"He's in an early grave because of me Gwen! Protect him with your life. You don't deserve to bury someone you love because you were careless. No one does." Jack knelt down, laying his own flowers beside Rhys'. He sat there as the cold wind picked up, plucking at the verdant green leaves of the roses.

"I can stay with you, Jack," Gwen offered after a pause. "It might be easier." Without turning around, Jack shook his head.

"No need. It's not like I can kill myself." Ignoring him, Gwen sat beside him, folding his unresisting body against her own and wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

"Grief is a terrible thing." The warmth of Gwen's body next to his own was the final straw that broke him and the tears that Jack had suppressed ever since Ianto died bubbled over, flooding out in heaves and gasps. Gwen just sat with him, letting the flood abate at its own pace.

"I never told him," he sobbed. "He knew, but I never told him." Gwen just held him as the wind shook free one single black rose petal, which proceeded to spiral up into a crystal clear blue sky.


	5. Undeath Does Odd Things to Love

**!SPOILERS!**

Title: Undeath Does Odd Things to Love

Rating: K

Pairings, Characters: One-sided Tosh/Owen

Set: Pre and Post-Reset

POV: Ianto

A/N: While this is still kind of angsty, I tried to lighten the mood a little. Please let me know how I did ;D

Journal Entry 14/3/00

Owen's at it again. He's been teasing Tosh mercilessly and she can't even defend herself she's so in love. He was reminding her about Mary and how she could never find a good lay, let alone anyone who would actually date her. I wanted to point out that she only had eyes for him, but it's hardly my place to play matchmaker between these two. Owen would smack me and Tosh would be too embarrassed to say anything. I'd better get the poor girl something sweet the next time I go out. She looks like she's inches away from some sort of mental breakdown. She loves chocolate. Maybe I'll stop by the sweets place by the coffee store.

Journal Entry 15/3/00

Poor girl really was close to a breakdown. She can barely look him in the face anymore and I don't think she's sleeping as well as she should. She's also working harder than I've ever seen her work before, installing two new translation programs she'd been working on into the hard drive. The chocolate was very much appreciated, but I can hardly do anything about Owen. Maybe I'll try putting him on decaf coffee and see if that helps. He could use a little punishment.

Journal Entry 17/3/00

I got a coffee mug thrown at my head today. After two days of what he calls "muddy sewer water", to use one of his nicer phrases, he got completely fed up. Of course I had to clean up after his little tantrum, but it was quite satisfying to see the disgruntled look on his face. It seems to have tamed him for now, considering he hadn't said two words to anyone after that. I think it's quite an improvement, if you ask me. From the looks of relief that the others have passed around, it seems that I'm not the only one of that opinion.

Journal Entry 18/3/00

Owen died today. I miss his snark already.

Journal Entry 19/3/00

I was right back after we stopped Suzie. Gloves always come in pairs and now we've got a walking corpse on our hands. Tosh seems pretty happy about it, though. But undeath does odd things to love. I really hope he kisses her though. It would be about bloody time.


	6. Torchwood's Night Out

Title: Torchwood's Night Out

Rating: K+

Pairings, Characters: Jack/Ianto

Set: ?

POV: 3rd Person

A/N: I just had my finals for school, so sorry about the wait. This is also the promised fluff, so that's all good. Feel free to send me any suggestions for ideas and such! I love hearing from you all, and I rarely bite. :D

It was supposed to have been a fun evening out. The rift had been quiet all day and Jack had suggested that they all go out for drinks at a nearby pub. But, of course, the rift decided at that moment that their nice cozy evening was not going to be nice and cozy, and instead threw a whole clan of very angry Weevils right outside their bar. This, in turn, led to Jack dying twice and Ianto suffering from yet another ruined suit, which he was currently standing in, dripping unhappily on the Hub floor.

"You don't look too pleased," Owen said with a wry grin as he watched Ianto begin fumbling with his clothes.

"Would you be pleased if you were covered in weevil blood?" Ianto asked sourly as he tried to unbutton his suit jacket with only two fingers. Owen fell silent and Ianto glared at his, as if to say "I told you so". Tosh was poking a decapitated corpse with the toe of her designer boot. The neck had been torn jaggedly, as if it had taken multiple cuts with a dull weapon.

"That was nice steak knife work, by the way, Ianto," Jack said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I was very impressed!"

"What was I supposed to do?" he replied snippily. "Let it eat me?" Jack put his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"No, no," he said, grin growing as he watched Ianto continue to struggle with his coat jacket. "I'm just impressed that you managed to kill it with that dull knife. I couldn't even cut a steak with one of those things."

"It took some work," Ianto growled, thoroughly fed up at this point. Finally managing to unbutton his coat, Ianto went to drop it on the floor, but Jack had come up behind him and slipped it off of his shoulders before he could, resting it on a chair.

"Come on, Yan," Jack said softly taking him by the elbow. "You'll feel a lot better after a shower and some clean clothes." Ianto went unresistingly, letting Jack lead him towards the private showers. When they were out of the prying eyes of the others, Jack turned and began stripping Ianto of his clothes, leaving them in a pile in the corner. As Ianto stood there, grimacing at the gory state of his body, Jack matter-of-factly began to remove his clothes, stopping when he was just in his white shirt and boxers. Ianto was surprised, and said as much, but Jack just smiled and turned the shower on.

When Ianto was pleased with the temperature, he stepped in, letting the water flood over him in cool waves, dragging the blood and dirt away. Letting out a satisfied sigh, he reached for the shampoo. A hand stopped him and he looked up to find jack looking at him with a soft smile.

"Let me do that." Ianto smiled in return and let Jack wash him. He lay contentedly against the broad warm frame behind him as Jack gently washed away the signs of the day's labors. Jack's hands were soft against Ianto's scalp and the combination of the water drumming softly against his skin and those skilled hands caressing him put him into a dreamy daze. Even after he was clean, Ianto just stood there in the shower, resting his head on the crook of Jack's neck. Jack, in turn, was reveling in the presence of the man he adored. The Weevil attack had left him shaken, and however much he joked about Ianto's unorthodox way of dealing with the Weevil that had launched itself at him, his heart had been in his throat the whole time. Seeing Ianto fighting for his life was something he could really do without. Even though he knew he would eventually have to bury him, he'd rather have him die of old age than killed right before his eyes. But these quiet moments, when Ianto was cradled in his arms were the most precious he had ever had. Reaching around his sleepy lover, he flicked the shower off and kissed Ianto awake.

"Come on, sweetheart," he murmured. "Looks like you need a good night's sleep. How's that sound?" Ianto made a contented sound and Jack took him to bed, wrapping him in a warm towel and guiding him to bed, where the two of them slept without another word.


	7. Frostbite

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up! I've been really busy with senior year and my Shakespeare show and my ideas have all dried up. Fortunately for you, a CoE marathon and the news that there is going to be another season of Torchwood (WTF BBC?) along with the cold weather, has inspired me. I hope you haven't all abandoned me! This is Jack's POV.

Freezing to death is not pleasant. Take it from someone who knows. That's why I was out in a blizzard looking for Ianto, who had disappeared without as much as a phone call and I was frightened out of my mind. Unlike me, Ianto would die for good, and I didn't want to lose him. Ever.

The ice stung my face, cutting little scraps like paper cuts across my exposed nose. I was wrapped warmly in coats and scarves and three layers of gloves, but I was still cold. The reality made my heart lurch, realizing that Ianto had just leaved with a heavy overcoat and nothing else. Squinting my eyes, I put my head down and pushed through the wet snow, which collected in heavy drifts that I had to wade through, muscles screaming after an hour of searching. I finally got to the warehouse where Ianto had been sent to examine a Rift spike and I stumbled in, the cutting wind finally easing up as I got inside. I saw Ianto right away, huddled in the far left corner, head down and collar pulled over his ears, just the dark brown tufts of his hair showing. I raced to him, peeling off the outer layer of my coat to wrap it around his shoulders. He wasn't even shivering and he barely moved as I placed my coat around him. I tried to lever him to his feet and he stumbled and almost fell over before I snatched him and dragged his frame against mine. I saw his eyes flicker open briefly and he sighed.

"Ianto," I murmured voice thick. "Stay with me love." I took one look outside and froze. I couldn't drag him to the hub in this weather. We'd never make it and he was already stressed and cold, most likely suffering from hypothermia and I couldn't afford to stress him anymore than he already was. Making up my mind, I laid him back down the corner closest to the door, where the wind wasn't curling the snow into little drifts. I stripped him of his wet clothes, wincing at the grey-blue tinge of his skin. I knew he was probably suffering from severe hypothermia, and I had to keep him warm until the storm abated enough to get him back to the hub. Bracing myself for the extreme cold I was about to submit myself to, I stripped, wrapping one of my scarves around his neck and shoving his numb fingers into a pair of mittens. Then I pressed my body against his, wrapping the coats around us, Ianto's wet one all the way on the outside, where the water couldn't chill him.

I don't know how long I waited there before he began to show any signs of life. It started with a simple tremor, barely more than a tremor, and slowly became a shake. His skin felt feverish and I could tell by the soft hitching in his breathing that he was in pain. His eyes flickered open then, and I pressed him closer to my body.

"Ianto, was anything here?" He pressed his frostbitten nose into the crook of my neck and said nothing. I could tell that he was about to cry. I cradled him against my body, beyond thankful that he was awake and going to be ok. But work was work and I had to know what was going on. "Ianto, was there anything here? I have to know." I felt him shake his head.

"There was nothing here." His voice was gravelly and exhausted. "Nothing at all. But then this freak storm blew up. You think it's the fairies again?" I frowned.

"It could be," I conceded. "But I hope it's not." I pulled Ianto even closer to me, upset by the obvious chill still in his flesh. He was quivering, his shudders trickling back to simple shivering. But I felt myself getting colder, my heat sucked out of my body into Ianto's. I was scared that I would die and be unable to save him if the storm continued and the thought made me sick. At least I would be with him. But it was small comfort as the wind howled just to the left of me

I lost all sense of time as we waited, I in a state of frightened alertness and Ianto in the drowsy sleep of the dangerously injured. Every so often I'd shake him, waking him up to quakes and shudders, anything to keep him warm. Finally the wind and snow eased, but neither one of us had any strength. But our savior was just a few minutes away, though we didn't know it.

"Jack! Ianto!" Like a hound on a scent, my head came up. At that moment, Tosh's familiar voice was the best thing I had ever heard.

"In here Tosh!" Owen, Tosh and Gwen stormed in after the sound of my voice, Owen frowning as he saw the two of us huddled under a mound of coats. He came beside us, looking me over and then gesturing for me to uncover Ianto. Owen frowned again when he saw Ianto's flushed face haloed by the rest of his icy pale skin.

"We need to get him inside," came the Doctor's brisk prognosis. "Gwen, the blankets?" Before I could do as much as blink, they had bundled him in a trio of blankets and put him on a stretcher, tossing another blanket over him. Tosh and Gwen lifted the stretcher and Owen tucked his arm under my arm, partially supporting my weight. When we got outside, I found the snow tamped down in a small trail. It made getting back to the Hub rather easy.

Once we got there, Ianto and I were tucked together on the couch, stripped of our clothes and sitting with a weak cup of coffee. I was so thankful to see the warm color back in Ianto's face, and I leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek, and I was rewarded with a wonderful smile. 


	8. TLC

T.L.C.

Pairing: Jack/Ianto

Timing: Anywhere before the end of season 2

POV: Jack

Rating: Light M. It's more of a lime than a lemon, seeing as I only really go into the foreplay.

A/N: Well, it's been a fun ride, but I think it's time to wrap this one up. I have had very little inspiration and don't want to leave this series hanging without another word to you, my beloved readers. So it's been a great ride, and maybe, just maybe, you'll hear from me again. Much love!

Nowadays a cold never killed anyone, but this one was trying very hard. Now, I can't die, but clearly this little virus was unaware of this one tiny fact. Gwen told me I shouldn't be at work, but I didn't really have anywhere else to be, so I curled up on a soft couch and nursed a cup of weak tea. But I was not moping. I don't do that. I do however, get irritated, and the soft sympathetic looks Gwen and Tosh were shooting me whenever they passed didn't make me too happy. I staggered to my feet and shuffled over to Owen, who was taking an inventory, his normal smirk replaced by gentle concentration. He was pretty when he wasn't snarky, but I knew he was much more interested in Gwen, even though she was married, and I liked my head where it was.

"Are you sure you don't have anything for this?" I asked, scraping my voice uncomfortably across the words.

"You mean besides the stuff you've refused to take?" He paused, resting his hands on a tray so he could look up at me.

"You mean cough syrup and decongestants?" I rolled my eyes. "Let's not add insult to injury."

"Maybe I could just lop your head off and deep freeze you for the day. It might help with the cold."

"You will do no such thing." Ianto had overheard Owen and had paused, looking as disgruntled as he ever could. I couldn't help running my eyes over his frame, admiring the crisp way the suit fell over the soft curves and straight planes of his body. He must have felt my eyes on him, because he looked up, meeting my eyes with a small smile.

"You really do look horrible," he said softly when he had taken a good look at my face. "You're all pale." He paused for a moment as he looked me over. "Here, I'll tell you what. You come home with me, and I'll take some time off to look after you." I almost protested, but a bed sounded so nice, and I was bundled off before I could string two words together. The drive was a blur, and I almost dozed, but my stuffy head made that an impossible fantasy rather than the reality I so desperately needed.

When we finally reached his apartment, he bundled me up the stairs and lay me down on the couch while he went to get some blankets. By that time, I was in a dazed stupor, my head pounding and my throat raw. Ianto came back with a steaming mug and some painkillers, which he forced me to take despite my protests. He then wrapped a blanket around my shoulders, pushing me into the corner of the warm soft pillows. To my surprise, he then draped himself over me, resting his nose in the crook of my neck. He had slipped out of his suit jacket, and the collar of his crisp white shirt still had a hint of the detergent and fabric softener Ianto loved so.

"Aren't you worried that you'll get sick?" I murmured, not wanting him to stand, but concerned for his own wellbeing. I didn't want him suffering the same horrid plague that had gotten me, and if there was one thing I had learned about sickness is that it's best to stay as far away from someone with a cold as possible.

"It's a risk I am willing to take," he said coyly. I could feel him smiling against my skin, and I couldn't help but return it, even though I doubted he could see my face, as curled up as he was. But he was warm and solid and reassuring, and the tea and medication were slowly soaking into my body, easing the knots that had taken up residence in my shoulders. He pressed a lazy kiss to my neck and my pulse jumped. There was another, and another, and I almost felt like I couldn't breathe until his lips were against my skin. A flush completely unrelated to my flu wormed its way up onto my face, and down through my belly to pool between my legs. He pulled away, and I heard him chuckle.

"Even sick, huh?" I rolled my eyes and turned away, embarrassment in my eyes. But then his hand flicked under the hem of my shirt, firm and affectionate as it traced my navel. I tried to control my breathing, but my will was not my own, and it came in juddering gasps as Ianto worked one hand up my chest and another under the small of my back.

"Wha—" I made a somewhat incoherent sound as he moved to unbutton my shirt. He began pressing kisses against my flush skin, soft kisses like the brush of a dove feather and my heart began to flutter like a trapped butterfly. Ianto was fully sprawled on me by then, being careful to pool most of his frame into the padding. I could have held him, but the soft concern he was taking just added to the curl of warmth in my stomach. He was murmuring something in Welsh that my foggy mind couldn't even begin to understand, but his voice was like velvet, and soon my mind only registered feeling, so I closed my eyes and let them wash over me. His fingers on my chest, his lips against my neck, the warm press of his still clothed body against my own…

"Oh God—"

I must have made a sound when he took me into his mouth because he laughed around me, sending the hum straight through me like a jolt of current. Flu forgotten, I felt my body arch, the first tickle of orgasm creeping into my body. Ianto had not stopped murmuring, and the vibrations of his voice were almost more than I could stand. But just as I thought I was about to explode, Ianto pulled away to meet my eyes. I must have made some sound because he smiled.

"I love you." Three little words I had never heard fall from his mouth. I started and looked hard at him. There was an open flush across his cheeks, highlighting the soft, almost feminine curves in his face. He met my eyes obliquely, a hint of embarrassment in his face. But when he saw my wide eyed wonder his gaze firmed.

"I love you."

And those three simple words made my body explode.

I woke feeling surprisingly better. I had been tucked into a feather soft bed with an extra pillow under my head. Ianto was asleep beside me, his face still and open. He was beatiful It was 6:30 in the morning, and I felt still and calm. My head was still clogged, but I felt renewed nonetheless.


End file.
